NEW YORK — Mounting signs of weakness in the global economy and a poor start to the holiday shopping season knocked the stock market lower on Monday.

Earlier sales, a shift to online shopping and stagnant wages meant fewer Americans showed up to stores over the Thanksgiving weekend, the National Retail Federation said Sunday. The trade group estimated that total spending for the four days totaled $50.9 billion, down 11 percent from last year.

Major retailers slumped in response. Macy’s lost $1.72, or 3 percent, to $63.19, and Target fell $1.25, or 2 percent, to $72.75. Best Buy lost $2.15, or 6 percent, to $37.26.

New reports of slowing manufacturing in China as well as in the three largest economies that use the European currency — Germany, France and Italy — also gave investors little reason to cheer.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 14.12 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 2,053.44. The losses were widespread: General Electric and other industrial companies led eight of the ten sectors in the index down.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 51.44 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,776.80, while the Nasdaq composite fell 64.28 points, or 1.3 percent, to 4,727.35.

Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital, said more reports of slow economic growth around the world and falling oil prices could drive the market down in the coming weeks. But he thinks any setback will likely prove temporary.

“Maybe the weakness in the global economy will take some of the starch out of our economy,” he said. “It probably will, just not so much that it really hurts corporate earnings.”

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